Quarter of working families ‘forced to choose between energy bills and food’ – The Sun

A FIFTH of working families are struggling to pay fuel bills — even before the forecast coldest winter in five years pushes them higher.

Of 12million households with a child and at least one working parent, 2.3million fear they will not be able to pay for gas and electricity without cutting back elsewhere.

Getty – Contributor

Over 2 million people in the UK are worrying about paying for gas and electricity

More than a quarter, 26 per cent, worry they may not be able to feed and clothe their family if they turn on the heating. A similar amount say they will not be able to afford Christmas gifts.

Almost half, 46 per cent, say they have struggled to pay their energy bills at some point over the past five years.

Check out how much you’ll save without any obligations simply by visiting THEBIGDEAL.COM

Almost one in ten have visited friends and family to avoid putting on their own heating while seven per cent have worn gloves and hats to bed.

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The average cost of a standard variable tariff has risen from £1,064 to £1,131 this year after a round of hikes from suppliers.

Claire Osborne of uSwitch.com, which carried out the survey, said: “The quickest and easiest step most households can take is to make sure they’re not paying too much and see if there is a ­better energy deal on offer.”

Readers can switch with The Sun’s People Power deal.

How to sign up

THE Sun is urging readers to sign up to its new People Power energy tariff – that can save hundreds of pounds on your bill.

Using the heft of thousands of Sun readers we bargained in mass to get an exclusive energy deal you can’t get on your own.

We teamed up with collective bargaining site The Big Deal and managed to negotiate a deal that will save you £237.

It’s with a great company challenging the Big Six called Green Network Energy.

It’s also fixed for a year and a half so you don’t need to worry about getting hit with any price rises until 2020.

That’s peace of mind for two whole winters.

You can check out how much you’ll save without any obligations simply by visiting THEBIGDEAL.COM

Pop your email address, postcode and a little bit of info in and you’ll be given a personal quote for how much you’ll save.

You can then decide if you want to take the deal. No worries if you don’t.